Posts by claytoncapeletti

i've been a faded jw for 10 years i left because of my failed first marriage, i'm no hypocrite and realised i had left completely so i embraced the world and dived in, only christmas and birthdays i could not get into, they were too foreign to me having never celebrated them, like if i suddenly tried to do ramadan or something like that.. 1/ all the criticisms of the people in the truth you say on here, i've found in the world, warts and all only in the world nothing holds them back from being utterly horrible to you.. 2/ i got stabbed by a worldly boyfriend, i got married 2 times of my own choosing to men outside the truth, the first smoked and was an alcoholic, the second gambled every penny we had and defrauded me out of money after we separated, 2 divorces later i am currently pregnant and a single mum since current boyfriend decided kids was to much of a responsibility and he needed his freedom and i was 'too selfish to expect him to give up his life'.. 3/ parents-in-law!

i have been shunned by them as equal to anything you accuse witness families of and for the silliest of reasons, i had a disabled son and his grandparents said they wanted nothing to do with him because they didn't want to become attached in case he died.. 4/ i miss the honest friendships of the truth, i had friends of all ages from 14 to 80 years old and they genuinely cared for me, many trying to keep me in the faith a long time after i left but i was determined to fade so moved away completely, but i find friendships in the world so shallow in comparison and very hard to sustain :( i've never been a drinker and sometimes thats what friendship means you being a companion for them to goto pub with.. 5/ my recent boyfriend was in a christian religion, i thought why not find out about it, harvest churches if you ever heard of them, unfortunately it still hasn't stop him leaving me pregnant and alone and when i said to him how does he clear that with god, he replies "as long as i repent it doesn't matter" it's like he has a "get out of jail free card" for any wrong-doing in the bible, this is so alien to me and my witness trained conscience.. 6/ i recently out of frustration tried looking into atheism and joined their forums, it wasn't fun, they are as bombastic and arrogant as their religious counterparts can be from any religion, they make a religion out of not believing in god, it's very weird they talk of saving people from believing in god and offer nothing to replace it.

they said to me "be happy you are in reality now and enjoy it" and i thought "well if this is reality i've had enough of it".

claytoncapeletti

You can not do the same thing as before and expect a different result. I wish you all the best, but running back to the Watchtower will not solve your problems. Becoming a JW again is only a short term solution. Do some personal work first! Focus on what's best for you and your kids. You don't need organized religion to make you whole, that power only lies within you.

You will probably be welcomed back into the hall and be love bombed all over again. We all know that it will not last forever, sooner or later, the same issues that drove you away will resurface. Then you will have to go through the painful fade or even be DF.

Agian, I wish you the best.

5

Memorial Invitation in the mail box

by JH in

jw
friends

yesterday, the jw's left an invitation in each mailbox in this apartment building.

i looked at mine earlier this morning.

there is a picture of jesus and lots of text i didn't read, then the hour and address of the kingdom hall.

claytoncapeletti

Mine was left in my front door. I was so hoping for my yearly elder's visit, but they took the easy route and just left the invite in my door. The kicker was that I was home, they just did'nt knock! Maybe before they knocked they sensed my apostate intentions and decided against talking with me.

Maybe posting under my real name has finally caught up with me :-) Oh well, there is always next year.

P.S- Dear Elders, I still live in the same house as before, the one that says "Capeletti" on the front door. You are welcome anytime, you don't need the memorial as an excuse. Please join me for some friendly banter and explain to me why 1914 Generation Teaching has changed so much in the 10 years I have been away.

78

JWs: Biggest Turnover Rate of Members! "Masked churn" rate of 2/3rds!!

by Seeker4 in

jw
friends

an article just out this afternoon said the following.

note especially the second paragraph about jws: .

for some groups, their relatively steady number of adherents over the years hides a remarkable amount of coming and going.

claytoncapeletti

(AP) -- The U.S. religious marketplace is extremely volatile, with nearly half of American adults leaving the faith tradition of their upbringing to either switch allegiances or abandon religious affiliation altogether, a new survey finds.
The study released Monday by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life is unusual for it sheer scope, relying on interviews with more than 35,000 adults to document a diverse and dynamic U.S. religious population.

While much of the study confirms earlier findings -- mainline Protestant churches are in decline, non-denominational churches are gaining and the ranks of the unaffiliated are growing -- it also provides a deeper look behind those trends, and of smaller religious groups.

"The American religious economy is like a marketplace -- very dynamic, very competitive," said Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum. "Everyone is losing, everyone is gaining. There are net winners and losers, but no one can stand still. Those groups that are losing significant numbers have to recoup them to stay vibrant."
The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey estimates the United States is 78 percent Christian and about to lose its status as a majority Protestant nation, at 51 percent and slipping.

More than one-quarter of American adults have left the faith of their childhood for another religion or no religion at all, the survey found. Factoring in moves from one stream or denomination of Protestantism to another, the number rises to 44 percent.
One in four adults ages 18 to 29 claim no affiliation with a religious institution.
"In the past, certain religions had a real holding power, where people from one generation to the next would stay," said Penn State University sociologist Roger Finke, who consulted in the survey planning. "Right now, there is a dropping confidence in organized religion, especially in the traditional religious forms."
Lugo said the 44 percent figure is "a very conservative estimate," and more research is planned to determine the causes.

"It does seem in keeping with the high tolerance among Americans for change," Lugo said. "People move a lot, people change jobs a lot. It's a very fluid society."
The religious demographic benefiting the most from this religious churn is those who claim no religious affiliation. People moving into that category outnumber those moving out of it by a three-to-one margin.

The majority of the unaffiliated -- 12 percent of the overall population -- describe their religion as "nothing in particular," and about half of those say faith is at least somewhat important to them. Atheists or agnostics account for 4 percent of the total population.

The Roman Catholic Church has lost more members than any faith tradition because of affiliation swapping, the survey found. While nearly one in three Americans were raised Catholic, fewer than one in four say they're Catholic today. That means roughly 10 percent of all Americans are ex-Catholics.

The share of the population that identifies as Catholic, however, has remained fairly stable in recent decades thanks to an influx of immigrant Catholics, mostly from Latin America. Nearly half of all Catholics under 30 are Hispanic, the survey found.
On the Protestant side, changes in affiliation are swelling the ranks of nondenominational churches, while Baptist and Methodist traditions are showing net losses.

Many Americans have vague denominational ties at best. People who call themselves "just a Protestant," in fact, account for nearly 10 percent of all Protestants.
Although evangelical churches strive to win new Christian believers from the "unchurched," the survey found most converts to evangelical churches were raised Protestant.

Hindus claimed the highest retention of childhood members, at 84 percent. The group with the worst retention is one of the fastest growing -- Jehovah's Witnesses. Only 37 percent of those raised in the sect known for door-to-door proselytizing said they remain members.

Among other findings involving smaller religious groups, more than half of American Buddhists surveyed were white, and most Buddhists were converts.
More people in the survey pool identified themselves as Buddhist than Muslim, although both populations were small -- less than 1 percent of the total population. By contrast, Jews accounted for 1.7 percent of the overall population.
The self-identified Buddhists -- 0.7 percent of those surveyed -- illustrate a core challenge to estimating religious affiliation: What does affiliation mean?
It's unclear whether people who called themselves Buddhists did so because they practice yoga or meditation, for instance, or claim affiliation with a Buddhist institution.

The report does not project membership figures for religious groups, in part because the survey is not as authoritative as a census and didn't count children, Lugo said. The U.S. Census does not ask questions on religion

22

Which Hotel in VEGAS is your favourite??????

by south african beef in

jw
friends

just been to the bellagio for 6 days - absolutely loved it!.

visited most of the big hotels - loved the wynn with it's in house ferrari showroom.. venetian was also awe inspiring.

mandalay bay was impressive for its size - including a 12,000 seat auditorium and an underwater shark experience.. luxor was also amazing and mgm grand is the worlds biggest hotel with over 5000 rooms.. for shopping caezars palace was fantastic - the forum shops were something else!.

claytoncapeletti

I have only been to Vegas one time. I went almost 3 years ago for my honeymoon and stayed at the Paris. The Hotel was great and the food was amazing. The Paris buffet was "forgetabout it". Had the most fun gambling at Cesar's Place and at New York, New York.

9

"LIES, LIES!" for Bible readers and those with the NWT unholy scriptures.

by Chalam in

jw
friends

i was just watching this video after reading another thread.

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=n9xjw_sk7ta .

the i saw the this verse plastered over the wall in the kingdom hall.

claytoncapeletti

"The NWT is totally bogus, full of half truths and downright lies. Jesus is King Of Kings, Lord Of Lords, one with the Father and the only name by which we may be saved, read that in any good Bible :) "

But since there no one true version or any proof that GOD wrote or inspire any Bible, doesn't that make Bible just an old book with some helpful advice? To me, it does not matter what version you are reading, it's all a bunch of lies. The Christian Bible, is no more real than the Koran or even the Book of Mormons. In a few hundred years, mankind will look back and make fun of us for worshiping a carpenter. Just think of how you look at ancient Greek or Roman Gods. Mankind evolved enough to see that those Gods were a bunch of B.S. One day people will look at Jesus and Mohammed and say "Wow, how did those people ever believe in something so silly"

Just my 2 cents.

With Brotherly love,

The Cape

37

Where is the best place to live in South Florida?

by averyniceguy in

jw
friends

.

claytoncapeletti

By far the Keys are the best part of Florida, but you have to a special type of person to actually live down there. Personally I have lived in Hollywood, Fl almost all my life and it is a pretty good place to live. My wife says that she hates it down here because the people are rude and it's too hot for too long. She has been angling for a VA, D.C move for years but for now, I am firmly planted as a South Floridian.

P.S- I hate going to Miami/Dade county, it's like another country down there.

Much brotherly love,

The Cape

36

How many liked "V for Vendetta" ?

by frankiespeakin in

http://vforvendetta.warnerbros.com/index2.html.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8222063231829676102&q=v+for+vendetta&total=10203&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=3.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3237043034856135114&q=the+best+of+v+for+vendetta&total=209&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0.

claytoncapeletti

I thought it was a great movie. It shows that if you give your goverment a little to much power over personal freedom, the government will take it upon itself to take the rest of your freedoms. Loved the moved from start to finish and Natalie Portman is one hot bald chick!

53

What congregations did you attend in your lifetime?

by averyniceguy in

jw
friends

claytoncapeletti

In Hollywood, Fl born and raised At the Hollywood North Kingdom Hall I spent most of my days Giving talks, relaxing all cool, Always in service, never got to shoot b-ball outside of the school When a couple of elders said were up in no good Started making trouble in my neighborhood I got in one little elders meeting and my mom got scared And said you’re moving with your aunte and uncle in bel-air Ok, sorry about that. I am very bored at work today and for some reason the theme song to Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is running through my head. Anyways, Hollywood, FL represent! North Hollywood Cong from 1985 through 1997-98. Lots of friends in Hollywood Hills, Davie, Flamingo and Miramar halls. Holla if you are out there!!!